What is team-centric methodology about?

What is team-centric methodology about?
One of the main changes happening within companies in recent years is related to employee assessment, according to a study conducted by Deloitte. While until now the leading trend was the people-centric model, in which every individual was given a goal to carry out, organizations are increasingly opting for a team-centric model, in which everyone works towards accomplishing a purpose. Thus, instead of focusing on the assessment of individual achievements, the overall impact of their contribution to the group is what’s taken into account.

One of the key principlesof this methodology is that, if the team wins, also does the employee and therefore the company. In a people-centric model the manager is the one who sets the objectives to be accomplished. Each person reports to their superior, as in a ladder model. With the team-centric system, objectives are set for the entire organization, assigning a certain one to a certain division or business unit occasionally.

Afterwards, employees are the ones who set their own goals in order to help comply with whatever is established beforehand. The manager’s fundamental role is to get every member of the team to understand the purpose of the project, as well as the reason behind the work they must do. The feeling of having a purpose to accomplish is one of the most motivating factors within work environments, according to Daniel Pink. When employees are provided with a comprehensive approach, their commitment is higher than if just asked to carry out a part of the entire project without being really aware of what their work is useful for.

Allowing employees to set their own goals doesn’t mean that they don’t have to report what they do. From the get-go, the manager is aware of the objectives they have in mind and supervises all the process. However, he does not take into account quantitative data as much as qualitative values. As they move forward, employees report regularly on their progress and in turn they’re informed of how the project is developing and, providing that it improves the process, their point of view is taken into consideration.

To put such monitoring into practice, managers must be re-educated in order to leave quantitative information aside and to focus on the qualitative. This kind of leaders capable of influencing, motivating and making people work together towards a common goal are the ones that will beat their competitors eventually.

To summarize, here are some of the main characteristics of the team-centric model:
– Projects begin much quicker, since there’s no need to wait for each individual to have a set goal.
-Employees are more motivated because they see the importance of their contribution first-hand.
-Motivation is higher, since everybody feels they’re listened to and relevant when trying to accomplish an objective that benefits the company.
-Thanks to constant monitoring on the part of managers, corrections can be made during the process, thus avoiding to wait until project completion to realize that the expected results have not been achieved.
Sources: Saba, Inc, Deloitte

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